M35a2 deuce headlights

[V8srfun]

I have a headlamp out and need to replace it or upgrade to something better. I am trying to learn about the led lights. I think I read somewhere that the trucklite led lamps are not all that long lasting but I can’t seem to find any threads on them. I am basically seeking advice on what lamps/ bulbs seem to have the best longevity/ performance relative to price.

what lights do you have and would you buy them again or go a different route.

 

[98G]

I like the jw speaker lights.

 

[cattlerepairman]

It seems the jw speaker lights, heated, are the gold standard.

I, too had bad experiences with Trucklite and it may be that the design or quality itself is sub par or that unscrupulous vendors sell batches of lights made for but rejected by the military.

I decided to keep more of my money and bought a set of 7" LED for $70 each from an auction site, used a civy headlight plug and pigtail with added military connectors to make the connection between the truck and the LED lights without making any changes to the truck and have not looked back.

Best price/performance relation, in my book.

I buy JW Speakers when I win the lottery.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[V8srfun]

Thanks I would love to have the JW lights they are impressive. When I worked for E-ONE some of the fire departments spec’d them for their trucks and we always admired them. But that price tag!!! I actually made a purchase today on amazon for a set of 7 inch led lights for jeeps but they were rated for 10 to 32 volts so I should not have a problem there. I will update when installed they cost I think 80 dollars and are dot approved

 

[Sgt Jiggins]

they cost I think 80 dollars and are dot approved

On CRM's recommendation I recently bought the same and have been impressed with them. They are in a heavy, cast metal housing. Way better than similar looking all-plastic ones IMHO because of heat dissipation if nothing else.

 

[jimm1009]

I am chiming in waaaay late here. I purchased two Hella brand H4 headlights and installed 24 volt H4 bulbs in them. Really bright at road legal wattage and they are more focused due to being designed originally for European cars and trucks. I don't remember exactly how much they were but all in all I would say less than or right at $100.00. Try buying one military 24 volt OEM headlight from the average military surplus vendor. I am not knocking any of them but those lights are expensive and not all that great being incandescent.

 

[sigo]

On CRM's recommendation I recently bought the same and have been impressed with them. They are in a heavy, cast metal housing. Way better than similar looking all-plastic ones IMHO because of heat dissipation if nothing else.

What brand these economical LED headlights? I’ve been kicking around getting a pair for another vehicle but I’m reluctant to buy an unknown brand from Amazon or an auction site. I have Trucklite’s on my deuce and they’ve been working fine for 7 years or so. They don’t see much use anymore but I’ve never had an issue.

 

[V8srfun]

What brand these economical LED headlights? I’ve been kicking around getting a pair for another vehicle but I’m reluctant to buy an unknown brand from Amazon or an auction site. I have Trucklite’s on my deuce and they’ve been working fine for 7 years or so. They don’t see much use anymore but I’ve never had an issue.

All the stuff on amazon is made in the same Chinese factory so you just pick whatever one tickles your fancy.The the thing with this Chinese stuff is that it usually will last if it works out of the box and if it doesn’t you return it and try again.

 

[jimm1009]

What brand these economical LED headlights? I’ve been kicking around getting a pair for another vehicle but I’m reluctant to buy an unknown brand from Amazon or an auction site. I have Trucklite’s on my deuce and they’ve been working fine for 7 years or so. They don’t see much use anymore but I’ve never had an issue.

Not sure who you are asking but mine are Hella manufactured lights and bulbs too. I think they are Swiss made but not sure. Could be German manufactured but really great quality.
jimm1009

 

[montaillou]

Bumping this thread because one of my Truck Lites failed on me recently. Model 07370, LED.

I don't know how long they lasted as they were put in by the previous owner, but I got the impression they were installed maybe 5 to 8 years ago, which isn't great in my opinion for a pair that cost at least $400 brand new.

Now, certainly I can get a cheapo pair off anywhere, but there's some criteria that I want to consider and get opinions on.

Truck Lite is no longer around but are now Truck Lite by Rigid Industries, they are still advertised as epoxy filled and ~$500/pair. I have found a supplier of the original model Truck Lite in S. Korea, NOS ~$150/light. These NOS come with military connectors. Price is not my first consideration, but it's not off the list either.

One of the things about Truck Lite was that, according to their literature, all the electronics are sealed in epoxy for vibration resistance. My truck doesn't see a lot of off road, but even idling it does vibrate a bit. I'd be afraid of shaking a cheapo to bits. Now, there are other brands of lights sold that also have this feature, just look in the off road world.

Now, none of these will have military connectors, but there exist adapters, an added cost, for $25/pair, and another thing subject to vibration.

Another consideration is the power of the lights. I was looking at a pair made buy Oracle, I haven't looked at many, this one just caught my eye because they're also epoxy filled. And they're 75 watt. Now, the Truck Lite LED were 24 watt on low beam, and 43 on high. I can't say I lit up the neighbor hood, but compared to the Easy Bake light that was used in the stock lights the Truck Lite LED are pretty good.

I don't have any other non-stock electronics hooked up to the original 24v system, and I've even replaced all the incandescents around the truck (turn signals, brake lights) with LED bulbs that draw less.

Should I be concerned about a higher draw from newer lights or should I buy a few extra NOS Truck Lites to keep around? Did I just get a bum Truck Lite? I have read some mention about their longevity not being the best. Another brand with epoxy filling but not such a big wattage draw?

 

[TechnoWeenie]

Bumping this thread because one of my Truck Lites failed on me recently. Model 07370, LED.

I don't know how long they lasted as they were put in by the previous owner, but I got the impression they were installed maybe 5 to 8 years ago, which isn't great in my opinion for a pair that cost at least $400 brand new.

Now, certainly I can get a cheapo pair off anywhere, but there's some criteria that I want to consider and get opinions on.

Truck Lite is no longer around but are now Truck Lite by Rigid Industries, they are still advertised as epoxy filled and ~$500/pair. I have found a supplier of the original model Truck Lite in S. Korea, NOS ~$150/light. These NOS come with military connectors. Price is not my first consideration, but it's not off the list either.

One of the things about Truck Lite was that, according to their literature, all the electronics are sealed in epoxy for vibration resistance. My truck doesn't see a lot of off road, but even idling it does vibrate a bit. I'd be afraid of shaking a cheapo to bits. Now, there are other brands of lights sold that also have this feature, just look in the off road world.

Now, none of these will have military connectors, but there exist adapters, an added cost, for $25/pair, and another thing subject to vibration.

Another consideration is the power of the lights. I was looking at a pair made buy Oracle, I haven't looked at many, this one just caught my eye because they're also epoxy filled. And they're 75 watt. Now, the Truck Lite LED were 24 watt on low beam, and 43 on high. I can't say I lit up the neighbor hood, but compared to the Easy Bake light that was used in the stock lights the Truck Lite LED are pretty good.

I don't have any other non-stock electronics hooked up to the original 24v system, and I've even replaced all the incandescents around the truck (turn signals, brake lights) with LED bulbs that draw less.

Should I be concerned about a higher draw from newer lights or should I buy a few extra NOS Truck Lites to keep around? Did I just get a bum Truck Lite? I have read some mention about their longevity not being the best. Another brand with epoxy filling but not such a big wattage draw?

I have a thread on LED options.

Do NOT get the oracle. I've laid out why in my thread.

Basically, don't get anything with multiple emitters that are bare (no optics), or behind poor optics. Best bet is something that has either projector optics, or Trucklite style. Both are readily available in aftermarket.

Link to thread about headlights

 

[montaillou]

I have a thread on LED options.

After reading your thread, I've decided to go with the devil I know. While I'm concerned with the longevity of the Truck-Lite, any suitable (I value performance more than price) light is still gonna cost. I ordered 3 replacement Truck-Lites. I like keeping extra spare parts of hard to find items, and this supplier was the only one I could find selling the exact same model. This model was the military spec about 15 years ago. I could go with the latest model, but it'd just cost more money.

If anyone else is interested, they're on evil bay, and the shipping is high because it's from Korea.

For what it's worth, this light has the military plugs, they're numbered on the light and match the numbers below the plugs on the truck. My stock headlight casing is a perfect fit.

 

[TechnoWeenie]

After reading your thread, I've decided to go with the devil I know. While I'm concerned with the longevity of the Truck-Lite, any suitable (I value performance more than price) light is still gonna cost. I ordered 3 replacement Truck-Lites. I like keeping extra spare parts of hard to find items, and this supplier was the only one I could find selling the exact same model. This model was the military spec about 15 years ago. I could go with the latest model, but it'd just cost more money.

If anyone else is interested, they're on evil bay, and the shipping is high because it's from Korea.

Links to Ebay are a no-no (Yeah, I know, it's stupid, not my rules)..... But there are Trucklite knockoffs available on Amazon, if you want to keep the Trucklite style, at a fraction of the price. Might be a good option for a spare, if you don't trust them.

Amazon.com

Just clicked your link. Holy crap that's a good price. Like, almost too good to be true, price. They look legit, though. An amazing deal, if they're real.

 

[montaillou]

Like, almost too good to be true, price

Didn't seem that way to me, I thought it a fair price. If you notice the seller carries a lot of military surplus. These lights went for something like $400/pair (list) back in the day (and I read a SS thread from 2011 where people were finding them anywhere from $200/pair and up), and they're being sold as NOS, each. The seller probably got something like 100 of these for $50/each in some military surplus sale - I've seen some military surplus go for ridiculous prices if you don't mind buy 200 of something.. The EB seller rating looked good, but I can always contest it with my credit card (you have 60 days) if they don't show up. Probably not a lot of buyers out there, as most would buy the latest military spec.

I didn't want to go with a knock off because I wanted the epoxy sealed, shock resistant, polycarbonate lens, etc that Truck Lite is known for. As your thread illustrated quite well, what a knock off appears to promise and what it delivers are likely two different things. However, if I can find a knock-off that does everything the brand name does, I don't care what it looks like. I'd even put Hello Kitty wheels on my truck if they fit and the price was right. There's a saying you might have heard, laughing all the way to the bank.

I thought the links to stuff was based on not listing links to auctions, etc, and that policy was rescinded? This isn't even an auction as the seller is listing 4 sold (3 of those are mine) and more than 10 still available. I thought I'd link it because I did think it was a fair price, and if anyone wanted to get into a higher end, performance light for a not super high price (compared to brand new). These are plug and play lights.

If a moderator wishes to comment, I or they am welcome to adjust my post.